Thousands of Fish Wash Up Dead on Oder River Possibly Due to Toxic Chemicals

Thousands of fish floating by the German banks close to the eastern town of Schwedt are believed to have washed up upstream from Poland, where initial reports of mass fish deaths were made by residents and anglers there as early as in the Latter part of July.

As specified in a Phys.org report, the fish have washed up dead, specifically on the Oder river running through Germany and Poland, sparking warnings of an environmental catastrophe "as residents are urged to stay away from the water."

German officials blamed Polish authorities for failing to inform them about the deaths and were surprised when the wave of lifeless fish was discovered floating on the river.

A 'Huge Scale' of Disaster

In Poland, the government has also come under heavy criticism for failing to take quick action. Nearly two weeks after the first dead fish arose floating in Polish villages, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said yesterday that at first, they thought that it was a local problem.

He admitted, though, that the "scale of the disaster" is quite huge, adequately large to say that the Oder river will need years "to recover its natural state."

Perhaps, the Polish leader added, large quantities of chemical waste were dumped into the river in complete knowledge of the danger and consequences. German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke urged a comprehensive probe into what she called a brewing environmental catastrophe.

Just the 'Tip of the Iceberg'

Standing by the riverbank, deputy chief of Germany's Lower Oder Valley National Park Michel Tautenhahn looked dismayed at the river on the German-Polish Border, The Sun reported.

He said, "We are standing on the German side," and dead fish were everywhere. He added he is deeply shocked that he feels he sees decades of work lying in ruins.

He continued saying the livelihood there, the water, "that's our life," and noted that it is not just fish that have died but mussels and possibly countless other water creatures.

The deputy chief also said this is just the tip of the iceberg. Over the years, the Oder has over the last years been known as a somewhat clean river, and 40 domestic fish species have made their home in the waterway.

Plastics and Toxic Chemicals Kill Fish, Poison Humans

According to a National Observer report, plastics, pesticides, and other toxic substances are devastating the fish and marine animals of the world.

A then-not-peered reviewed paper, this same report said, analyzed academic studies globally on the effects of plastics and toxic chemicals.

The finding of this review included pollution is compromising the global oceans, fisheries, and coastal communities while exacerbating the effects of climate change and overfishing. Such a result is undeniably alarming.

The researcher, aquatic veterinarian, and co-author of the said report explained that many people think that fish declines are only the result of overfishing.

In fact, he elaborated, the whole aquatic food web has been severely compromised with fewer fish at the top, invertebrate losses in the sediments and water column, fewer healthy marine algae, coral, and other habitats, and a multiplication of bacteria and poisonous algae microbes.

Indeed, chemical pollution, not to mention climate change, is the primary reason countless fish die, not just on the Oder river.

A report about the dead fish on the Oder River is shown on WION's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Fish in Science Times.